Las Cruses New Mexico~~~~~

Is where we are now....we decided to get a few extra miles in today.  It is late so I don't plan to blog long.  We will be heading up and over the mountain tomorrow am.  Today has been uneventful and we missed all the nasty weather going south on I10.

Good night all and Happy New Year!!



Until next time~~~~Travel safely

DH off for supplies~~~~~

He will be gone for well over an hour so I am on my own with the kids.  They are all sleeping...but I will get them moving since we have some sunshine today.  Very pretty out but chilly and windy.  We will be heading back to Iowa tomorrow after one more night with Em.

I am going to do ribeyes and portabellos on the grill tonight.

Today I am sad because a friend of mine and fellow worker passed away the day after Christmas.  I am so very sorry for his family.  He was only 62 and had complications after knee surgery.  Today is his funeral at home.  I am there with them in spirit and have been thinking of his family everyday since I found out what had happened.  He and I have known each other for over 20 years and just recently have been moved into the same department.  We talked alot of retirement and how wonderful it will be.....so sad he won't be able to enjoy this great time in ones life.  It certainly has been a subject of mine and DH's conversation alot more now that this has happened to my friend.  May you rest in peace my friend and may your family heal quickly and remember all the good times they have shared with you always......

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Today we relax~~~~~

and DH will be heading in town later to pick up a few supplies we will need for our trip home.  :(  It will be bitter sweet but we will have one more night with Em and her gang.  She is working today and and tomorrow but will then have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off.  She will be back out here after work tomorrow night and spend most of Friday with us before we take off for Iowa.

Last night I made creamed turkey over biscuits for supper to use up the rest of our turkey and steamed broccoli.  Tonight I plan to do some grilling. 

Nope that didn't work out because we have been getting tons and tons of rain this evening.  Sooooo I got out my cook book and decided on Cheese Burger Casserole.  It made enough for an 8x8 dish and there are two pieces left.  LOL  DH liked it alot.  I only had two pcs. Heehee.  It went perfectly with a tossed salad.

One thing is for sure it is nice to have my own kitchen to make fresh homemade food.  We have only eaten out twice this whole trip.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Promotion for Emilee~~~~~

And we sure did celebrate last night.  She and I enjoyed two bottles of wine.  She is now the Assistant Manager of the AAWL and SPCA vet clinic. See the link:  http://www.aawl.org/ 

We are very proud as she has only been with them for 6 months.

Here are a few pictures from last night's fun time.



Beautiful sunset shining on the mountains!



Here we are hanging out around the camp fire.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Lake Pleasant~~~~~

Where have you been all our lives.  Seriously why why why didn't we come here to begin with.  Cause we are both learning learning learning all the time!  DH has become my very own McGyver (sp).  He can fix anything.  Not that we have any major things just normal first timer stuff.  We are becoming "experts" very quickly.

Anywho, back to Lake Pleasant.  The name fits it.  We just finished taking our puppies for a walk over to this peninsula above.  The rest will be pictures from when we arrived and are now settled into a beautiful site. Site #11.



We are very happy with our new spot and I am sure you can all understand why.  Emilee is coming out tonight after work to spend another night with us.  She will love it here although she has been here before to Lake Pleasant that is.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Christmas Day~~~~~

We found a new place to move....Lake Pleasant north of Peoria, Arizona.  It is so pretty and out in the country which is what we like.  The camping area is called Roadrunner Park.  It only has water and electric hook up but that will not be an issue with us.  The view of the lake makes up for this big time along with the fact there is no limit on pets........

Some of the pictures I took when we found this place are shown below.

Not a bad view right?



Nice walk ways for taking the puppies out and about.












We will be moving tomorrow and look forward to it.  It is only another 17 to 20 miles northwest of Phoenix so it will not be too far for Emilee either.

Last night we went to her apartment and had dinner, cleaning up all the left overs and watched the Cardinal/Dallas football game.  It was a great game and a great time.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

We have had quite a day~~~~~

Emilee and her group left by 9 or so this morning.  She had to go to work today.  We had decided to go to the store today to get our supplies that we will need for the week so we took off for Walmart and it was very close to where we are staying.

After about an hour and a half we returned back with our "load"....we had completed our unloading and the asst manager came to our Fiver and said they had been getting complaints about the dogs....so they asked us to move to another area in the park and allowed us to stay with them even though we had two to many dogs.  We have always said that things happen for a reason.  We happen to love our spot better then the first one so we are very happy to have been asked to move. 

Here it is.



We added a puppy gate in our Fiver as well and it works well.

We certainly are learning alot.  We understand the park rules and plan to be very discrete with the puppies from now on as we do not want to get booted out.

We did up all of our laundry and DH spent time in the hot tub.  In our living room we have two movie type electric recliners with drink cup holders.  I poured a glass of soda and you won't believe what I did while DH was in the hot tub.  I decided to change the channel on the TV and without thinking set the remote into the cup holder forgetting that I had just put my glass of soda in it.  You guessed it DEAD REMOTE.  With a hair dryer and a little patience, it finally started working again.  My bad...

We just finished a quick supper of brats (on the new grill, thanks Mom) and baked tators and we are relaxing now for the night.  I wonder when vacation will start.....LOL  Just kidding we have been laughing about everything that has taken place so far and we are loving this warm weather.  It got up into the 70's today.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Desert's Edge RV Park~~~~~

Is a really nice park...It has won many awards and is called the Purple Park....just like our awnings at home.

We have delightful neighbors who love dogs better then kids. That's what they said right away.  LOL  They cracked up when we just kept getting them out of the truck.  Then the two ladies took Mandy and Libby for a walk for us.

This place is full.  It has a nice pool and hot tub.  Dog turn out areas and walk areas.  We have a fruit tree in our front yard area, concrete pad and a picnic table as well.

We got our place all decorated before Emilee arrived.  She and her gang, Rusty, Layla and Spotty arrived around 7:00.  She was thrilled to see the Christmas decorations and all.  I made Shrimp Scampi and Parmesan/Brocoli Brown Rice and a tomato salad for our first dinner together.  She was a happy girl!

Two bottles of Pinot later we ended our night.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Oh what a beautiful day~~~~~

We have had....good driving weather all the way through NM. 

My DH is such a good driver and our puppies are just blowing our minds.  They are soooo good and patient.  We are very proud of them.

We are now sitting in a weigh station for the night just outside a town called Springerville which is on the edge of NM and AZ.  We will only have about four hours to drive tomorrow.  Ahhhhhhhhh that will be grand.  We will be staying at Desert's Edge RV Park in Phoenix for a week or more.  We still have not decided how long we plan to stay in Phoenix but we will keep all our family and friends up to date on our plans.  We promise...heehee.

By the way, for all you non rver's DH means Darling Husband.  LOL

Well I need to get something done......wait a minute, no I don't I'm on vacation.  We will be back so stay tuned!

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

We made it to Tucumcari, NM~~~~~

Not quite as far as we had wanted to get down the road but that's ok.  We were ready to stop and take a break.  We are in a nice full service RV Park and enjoyed a delightful meal at a place not far from here....we walked there and back.  Now we are relaxing and watching some TV.  The puppies are all sound asleep in their beds.  CJ is snoring...LOL

We are going to try and get in alot more miles tomorrow but we shall see after all we are on vacation.  We are not keeping track of time.

Emilee has been checking on us and is very anxious for us to get there.  She's hungry....for Mom's cooking.

Well I am getting tired so I will sign off for now.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

They say it comes in threes~~~~~

 Bad luck that is.

12/18/2010:  1.  We finished loading this morning with our last minute items.  As I was doing a walk around (something I always did when pulling my horse trailer) I noticed one I of the tires on the Fiver (left rear) was very very low.   I asked Craig to come take a look and sure enough we were in trouble.  Soooo we headed out to Bauer Built to get it looked at and they didn't find a leak in the tire but the valve stem.  We had them put on a new one and by 11:30am we were finally on our way. 

 

2.  We decided to get the propane tanks all filled up so we would have four full ones.  Stopped near Wayland, Missouri at the Flying J and filled our fuel tanks and propane tanks.  Unfortunately we couldn't fill all the tanks because one of them had a loose valve.  No biggie we still had three full ones.

3.  We still had not gotten our fresh water tank filled yet so we stopped in Palmyra, Missouri.  Craig was out getting the hose ready and I was in charge of the faucet...."turn it on honey",  which I did and low and behold we were filling up with fresh water.  Woohoo...  Not!!  I went around to the Fiver to get my water bottle filled up and there was water running out of the door!! "CRAIG SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG"!  I screamed.  We went inside to find water gushing from under the fridge.  We started throwing towels everywhere and come to find out DH had forgotten to re-attach the water lines for the fridge from de-winterizing for our trip.  Again no big deal and my kitchen tile was now sparkling clean!  LOL

We decided to stop at a Walmart and spend the night as we were wiped out after all that had taken place. 

We woke up after a great nights sleep to snow.

12-19-10:  We traveled a good distance today via the Kansas turnpike.  The puppies are doing so well.  We are very proud of them.  When we stop to relieve ourselves...we take them as well.  When we stop for the night they make themselves right at home in the Fiver just as they do at home.  It is a great relief seeing how well our family is adjusting.  Last night was a wonderful night in the Fiver.  We found a very nice RV park called Evergreen RV in Pratt, KS.  We had full hook-up which included electric, water, sewer and cable TV.  Woohoo we get to watch TV.  We have not been able to get our Dish network going for some reason and I plan to give them a call.  We had a nice dinner of homemade chicken and noodles (I had even made the noodles) salad, and garlic bread.....a bottle of Pinot for me..heehee and several beers for DH.

12-20-10:  We are off now again heading SW on Hwy 54.  We got on the road this am at 10:30.  We plan to put in 400 miles today and stop again.  We did end up finding a propane dealer and now we have four propane tanks full for the next dry camping we do. 

More news later today......

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Packing packing packing~~~~~

Holy crap we gotta lotta crap!! heehee

My DH says I don't need to take the whole kitchen but he doesn't understand that a chef needs alot of tools, right?

We have made three car loads of stuff to the Fiver.  But alot of it was Christmas stuff, decorations, presents, etc.

We both sure hope we can sleep tonight. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of our very first "Fiver Adventure"....extra extra read all about it as we make our way cross country to Phoenix. Woohoo!

Brrrrrrrrrr~~~~~

Now I know why we have decided to follow 70ish weather around the country instead of retiring and staying put.  This kinda of below zero wind chill day is not enjoyable here in Iowa at all.  Especially when the puppies and I went over to feed the horses.  They are even cold....so they got extra hay today.

We will be driving out of here next Saturday to warmer temps and that day can't come soon enough.  Sounds like our coldest day will be tomorrow but at least the winds are suppose to die down.  It takes ones breath away let me tell you.  Be happy all our followers from Iowa that you are not here right now.

Today I plan to get some more cut-out cookies done.  The oven will help keep the house nice and toasty.  I love baking when it is cold outside.  Don't you?  Visited with Mom this morning and she is baking today too...making her famous cinnamon rolls.  She is sending some out to Phoenix with us for Christmas morning.  Yummooo!! 

Check out these cookies!!  I had some Candy Cane Kisses and decided to use them....I found this recipe online and they are awesome!

CJ, Oprah and Mandee go in tomorrow for foofooing.  The poodles always look so pretty with there poodle haircuts.  CJ is getting a good bath and trimming as well.  He has soooo much hair he can lose a little. LOL  I will give Libby a bath here at home as she is easy to do.  I hope someday I can learn how to trim the poodles which will help with reducing expenses once we take off down the road.

I best get a move on here or I won't get all those cookies done....

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

One of our Christmas gifts~~~~~

Thanks Mom!  We can't wait to use it in Phoenix in a couple of weeks for some portabello mushrooms, shrimp kabobs and steaks.  (drooling)

Still making plans for some home cooking for Emilee but she also has informed us that she and a friend of hers will be taking us out for a nice dinner somewhere....she won't tell me where but be assured it will be a delight for the taste buds.

I also found a couple of pictures of our two poodles with me taken at a brunch the day after Thanksgiving for you pet lovers out there.  These two girls are truly a joy....and smart my goodness poodles are smart.  It is kinda scary at times. LOL  Anywho, here you go for your viewing pleasure. heehee 

 Also found one I took of Craig with the girls out in the workout room but he certainly isn't working out!

He must be taking a break...LOL

Here is one of CJ, our Corgi waiting for his supper.  He is always hungry and I am sure you can tell by the picture how under fed he is...but we love him just the same.

We can't wait to see how the four of them do on our first Fiver Adventure.  They have always loved going bye bye in anything so I doubt that this will be any different.

I guess it is getting on towards supper time so I best get a move on for now sooooo,

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Sliced finger (middle)~~~~~

Damn that hurts.  It took at least 30 minutes to get it to stop bleeding.  Hopefully it won't start again.  DH helped place the bandages in the correct spot.

Going to take DH down to his rig today for a trip to Az.  I plan to meet up with Tammy later at Fun City to see the grand kids and have a bite to eat at a place called Boogaloos.  Not the best food but it'll do.  Hopefully we will discuss the wedding which is next April.  It will be a grand affair (crazy ass party) with our family and Troy's.  We have know Troy since he was a little boy and we totally approve of Tammy's choice.  He is awesome and treats her like a queen!

Today it is quite windy and we are suppose to get snow but the wind will just plain blow it away which is fine with me.  We only have two weeks until we start our very first Fiver Adventure.  I have many lists started.  heehee  It is an age thing I think.  I checked Christmas lights today and got those ready to go.  Geezzz this will be a fun Christmas in Phoenix and I hope we have lots of 70 degree weather while there.  (fingers crossed)

In closing, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blog.  I can't believe how many hits I have gotten since I started this thing in October.  How fun it will be to meet you down the road somewhere....someday.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Cut-out Cookies~~~~~

Got those done yesterday evening and they turned out like they always do.....Great!  It is the best recipe I have found for them and very simple.  I do Christmas trees, horses of course and big stars.  Emilee doesn't know it but she will be helping me decorate them when we get to Phoenix....

Here is the recipe for my cookies:

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teas baking soda
1/2 teas vanilla

Cream the butter, sugar and eggs together while beating lightly, add vanilla.  Add flour and baking soda.  Slowly roll 1/4 inch thick and then cut out.  Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 minutes.

I use a very simple frosting as well.

1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 teas vanilla
1 lb powdered sugar
1 - 2 tble milk
1 egg white (beaten)

Mix butter and vanilla.  Gradually add powdered sugar and egg white.  Add milk to achieve desired consistency.  Add food coloring to bowls of divided frosting and have fun.

Today I plan to do a little shopping, hoping that the crowds have settled down.  Don't plan to do much but need to get a few things yet.  Hope everyone enjoys their day of rest.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Hope everyone had a Great Day~~~~~

Happy Thanksgiving!

I ate to much but my goodness it was wonderful like always.  Got to see lots of family too.

We always have plenty of delicious dishes compliments of all us ladies.  The guys do clean up though so that is nice.

I am home now and getting ready to spend a quiet evening watching TV.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

All I can say is 3 days ~~~~~

This week....woohoo!  and no I do not go shopping on Black Friday!  I do most of my shopping on line.  My grandkids want gift cards so it makes it very easy for me.

Been trying to come up with some menus for our visit with Emilee at Christmas in Phoenix.  I love to cook and she has requested one item and that is cheesy potatoes.  Need a protein and a salad of some kind and that's one meal.  She is not a breakfast eater but my wonderful momma makes great cinnamon rolls and said she would send a pan of those with us. Emilee also loves my frosted cut-out cookies so I am going to try and get some of those made to take out with us.  I think what I may do is plan some menu items and then just go to the store after we get there.

It was 4 years the end of August that I helped her drive out to Scottsdale.  Sooooo it has been that many years since I have been with her at Christmas.  No wonder I am very happy to be going out with DH and our four puppies to spend 5 days with her this year.  We will have alot of laughs and tip a few glasses of wine.  She likes wine as well as I do.  I may take some Martini making stuff with me too.

I need to start a list......LOL

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

On the road again~~~~~

DH that is...he left this morning for a run to California so he won't be here for Thanksgiving.  Oh well, such is the life of a trucker.  He will be such a seasoned highway driver when we are getting out there on the road together in our Fiver and Crewzer.  He was home this last time for almost a week due to freight not moving but he got alot of "honey dos" done and alot of things done towards getting the Fiver and Crewzer ready for our "big" trip to Phoenix for Christmas.  He even cleaned the house and that was really appreciated.  My work lately has been stressful so that was a nice surprise to come home to yesterday.  I am a very lucky DW.  heehee

Enough said............

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

My Birthday~~~~~

It was a great day today!  Just means I am getting closer to that age when we can hit the road for good!  And what a great birthday gift with the purchase of our retirement home....yep life is good!

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Our first meal~~~~~

We spent our second night in our new home.  It is very comfy and homey.

I cooked supper for the first time and was very pleased with how it turned out since I have never used gas before.  We had tenderized pork loin lightly dusted with seasoned flour, sauted in olive oil until golden brown.  Then I added a can of low fat cream of mushroom soup and simmered until fork tender.  Yummmmm.  It was delightful served with a nice salad and baked potatoes.

The other really great thing is my DH, who is soooo handy, was able to take one of our Dish receivers out of the S & B and he installed it in the Fiver and low and behold we had TV.  We watched RV and no matter how often we see it we still get a good laugh or two or three.  LOL

We are planning our first trip in it in December.  We are taking off for two weeks and going out to Phoenix to spend Christmas with Em.  For the past few years DH has been going out in his "Big Rig" but this time we are taking our new home.  We will have lots of things to blog about so stay tuned!

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Happy Friday one and all~~~~~

Hope you all have a grand weekend!!  We plan to stay in the Fiver again and I may do some cooking in it as well.  Woohoo!  I love to cook so I need to get a list for the store.  All my life I have used electric cook tops so this will definately be a new adventure.......LOL

I think we will watch the movie RV too.  I never get tired of seeing that one.  heehee

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

We got lights~~~~~

DH left a basement light on in the Fiver a couple days ago and when I went over there last night no lights and no way to start the generator. Soooooooooo, he talked me through hooking up the generator to our charger and low and behold I did it right because tonight I have lights again and there is a good strong charge on the batteries.  I made sure all the lights and frig are off now and he will be home Friday late so we will hopefully get the 50 amp hook up at the horse barn and we won't have to worry about that again.  At the very least, I did learn from this experience.  Knowledge is a good thing.......right?  Ladies

You never know when you will need to do some things that you take for granted because your DH does them.  I plan to learn as much as he does about our new home so if need be I will be capable of handling any situation which is including driving the big truck pulling the big rig.  I pulled around a three horse goose neck trailer with living quarters behind a 3/4 ton GMC diesel for several years by myself and CJ my Corgi.  Gosh we had a good time, he and I.  We would meet my horse trainer and her Doby, Maggie at the horse shows and those two dogs were the best of friends....just like Nancy and I.   Ahhhhhh.....great memories those are!

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Monday I got the blues day~~~~~

Isn't it hard to get back into the swing of things at work when you have just experienced a nice loooonnnnggg weekend.  Nothing much new tonight except I am beat.  I hope all my traveling friends have a grand week and so look forward to doing this traveling as well.  To not have to worry about the work week on Sunday night will be a true joy to me.  I am really tired of working for a living!  LOL  and I bet I am not alone in this feeling.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood~~~~~

Today is absolutely one of those fall days that I do love here in Iowa in that the temp is right around 55+, sun is shining with a slight breeze.  The river is gleaming this morning very pretty.

I spent the night with my mother last night because she has been sick with the flu and now a head cold.  She took a hot shower and I rolled up her hair and now she is napping which is the best thing for this illness.  I hate those darn viruses that jump on ya at any given moment.  I had just gotten my flu shot on Thursday so hopefully whatever she does have I won't get.  If I do I do....she was not going to be alone last night due to how weak she has become.  I will run back over there in a bit to take her a bite to eat.  Not sure what yet but will figure that out too.

Not much else to report today.  Except, when I go over to the barn to feed the horses (this is where our Fiver and Truck are parked) I climb in and sit for a bit and just look around and admire this unbelievable home on wheels.  It is amazing the storage space...I mean they fill every nook and cranny with a storage space of some sort in these things.  I bet we won't have any trouble filling it up though.  LOL

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Oh heavenly bed~~~~~

It is wonderful as DH had assured me it was.  LOL

We are still having issues figuring a few things out but this too shall pass.  Our puppies our still a bit confused but they will adjust as well.  We are still in awe at how much room we have in this unit.  I was concerned about this when we were looking at MH vs Fiver's.  We felt (our opinion only) that the fiver living room was more like what would be in a small apartment.  However, the MH's we were looking at were very homey as well.  Believe me when I tell you we have gone back and forth on our decision with which one to buy and we know now that we made the right decision for us.  The cost difference alone was the main reason we went this way.  We did not want to spend our entire equity on a home on wheels, we wanted to have a little more of a nest egg besides our 401K's when we finally do hit the road full timing.

DH has to head back out on the road today....so we won't be able to camp in it again for a while but I am sure I will have lots of folks over to show it off yet this weekend.

Until next time~~~~Travel Safely

Oh My Goodness~~~~~

I can't explain the feelings when I saw this new home on wheels.  We are so proud showing it off...a few of the neighbors and Craig's Mom and friend Bob were in total shock at how much room and the beauty of the interior.  Here are some sneak peak pictures for your viewing pleasure (believe me when I tell you the pictures do not reveal the true beauty).....



Our daughter and her fiance came over to see it after dark and the lighting is unreal along with the sound system.  We rocked it out for a bit .....  LOL  We are still discovering new gadgets but this fiver is exactly what I had hoped for and more.  The truck is beyond words.  I have a very happy DH.  heehee

The wine flowed in celebration of our new beginnings....we look forward now to meeting up with and/or making new traveling friends as we get started with Our Fiver Adventures.

Oh I almost forgot, the puppies were all right at home and found their favorite spots immediately....they too approve of our purchase!

Until next time~~~~Travel Safely

Fiver Open House~~~~~

DH is making his way home.  Bed is very very comfortable, he reports.  Emilee's reaction was Mom you are gonna $#$#.  It is huge, she said.  I am very happy with her reaction and am looking forward to seeing it in person in a few days myself.  (goosebumps and butterflies)

I plan to have an open "fiver" house warming so all of our family and friends can have a look.  Has anyone else done this?  I can't wait to get started.....cleaning it, decorating it, etc.  Can't believe I said I can't wait to clean something?!?! That's a first.  LOL  We want to let all of those nay sayers see what our future holds and I truly believe they will change their opinions once they see our "new" RV home.  Some folk can't believe we are giving up our "River" home. 

While we have many wonderful memories in this home, we plan to have just as many in our home on wheels.  They will see especially if they follow our blog.  We would like to welcome our new followers Bill and Cap.

Happy Halloween Friends~~~~~

Just heard from DH and he is on his way home with our new home on wheels.  He can't quit talking about how awesome it is.  He says I will love the kitchen and all the storage is unbelievable as well.  Now I will be on pins and needles waiting for his safe return.  His flight was uneventful and this is really a good thing because he hates to fly.  Since he is an over-the-road driver he is very familiar with the West coast and shouldn't have any problems finding his way home. LOL  He plans to stop and show our daughter Emilee in Phoenix but plans to be home by Thursday.  Woohoo!!  (screaming)

I get butterflies in my stomach whenever I think about this new adventure we are about to begin.....like so many of you have already been doing and you are all so uplifting and encouraging.  I am so glad I decided to start this blog now before we start traveling.  I am hoping that I will continue to get new followers as well.  Thank you to all of you that have already joined my blog.  Someday we hope to meet up with many of you.  We enjoy having a good time just so you know up front!!  heehee

Well...I certainly hope I can get some sleep tonight but I am already starting to think about how I am planning to decorate our "new" home.  And DH's "man" truck.....well enough said.

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Chill in the Air~~~~~

Holy moly the chill in the air this week has been a wake up call (time to dig out warmer jackets) and the wind......my goodness it has been distructive.  Gives new meaning to the future we have ahead of us for which we will be following the 70 degree temps around the country.  Oh my that does give me goosebumps to think about it.  We will not miss this part of the seasonal changes we have here in Iowa.  Winter is right around the corner and I have found it is getting harder and harder to appreciate the changes in our weather.  Used to be I loved winter and snow.....not so much anymore.  LOL

Nothing much else new to report except the rig will be home soon.  DH is flying to California Sunday to pick it up and start home.  I hope he has an uneventful trip with it.  He plans to drop down into Phoenix to show Emilee and she can't wait to see it and him.



Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Sales~~~~~and stuff

As many of you prepare for your full time life on the road, I read alot about your yard sales, garage sales, etc.  Well I too am having a sale....but this one is a little different because I am selling horse related stuff.  I have sold corral panels and gates.  I have just sold several blankets and horse related items as well this past weekend.  It is amazing how much stuff one does collect to fullfil a dream.  Most of the things I have left are items my horses and I have won over the years, trophy's, blankets, halters, chairs.....etc.  It will be difficult to get rid of this stuff but I have the memories and pictures to keep forever.

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure of most of the horses we have raised/shown:

 http://www.facebook.com/sue.spear1?v=photos#!/album.php?aid=43435&id=1676322462

As we move closer to our dream of travel, I find myself wondering how it will feel to leave it all.  The house, the river, the horses..............knowing full well we can come back and see the river, and even the house and barn but yet I tear up at times just thinking about it.  Not owning our home on the river any more is bringing out mixed emotions but I am sure this is normal.  Our new home on wheels will settle those feelings down, no doubt.  The river is beautiful and we have lived here for close to 35 years....as long as we have been married as a matter of fact.  I remember when in the winter time it would be sooo cold it would freeze up solid in front of our home.  The kids had fun skating on it.  I even tried ice fishing a time or two.  I remember when we first started teaching the girls to water ski.  What a thrill that was.  They are both excellent.  But then that doesn't surprise me with how well their Dad can water ski and he was such a great instructor.  "It is easier to slolum" he would tell them.  We also had a jet ski and Emilee could ride that thing like no other, I remember.  I know I have some really cool pictures of her on it.  Oh and you can't believe how much fish I have taken out of the river....right off our dock.  My girls got sick of eating fish I think.  LOL

Yep there will be lots of fun memories to keep forever and ever......

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Secretariat~~~~~

From the reviews it looks like it could be a great movie to see.  My Mom and I are going to see it today.  It Was Awesome!!

I don't think the love of horses will ever be out of my blood completely.

I am not even sure why I had such a connection to the horse.  I was only in 8th grade when my Dad finally agreed to get me my first one.  Prince was his name or at least that's what I named him.  He was a mixed breed .... a Shetland pony and Arabian horse.  He cost $50 and that was alot of money to my parents.  I was a lucky girl.  He was so pretty.  Grey with a white blaze on his face.  He was born in Illinois on my cousins grandparents farm.  We lived in Iowa about an hour or so away.  At the time my folks owned a van called a Greenbriar I think was the name of it.  It had two bench type seats back behind the driver and passenger.  Dad decided to remove those two seats and bring Prince home in the Greenbriar.  I think it was Dad, me, one or two of my brothers, and maybe Mom.  I can't remember now....I can't remember how we got him into the vehicle either but I am sure my Dad was having second thoughts about his decision.

We made our way home back to Iowa with Prince who was a perfect gentlemen the entire way.  He only had one accident but then I now know that when a horse gets into a trailer they always do there business.  They say it is from nerves.  If I ever had a horse with a belly ache, I would load them up into the trailer and immediately they would let loose.  LOL  The belly ache went away though.  By the way, I didn't even have the trailer hooked up to my pickup.

In order to get from Illinois back into to Iowa we had to cross the MacArthur bridge which at the time was a toll bridge.  In fact, my Dad, who was a Burlington Fire Fighter his entire life would work the toll bridge as well to make extra money.  He really enjoyed it though.  At any rate, we made our way across the bridge and stopped to pay our toll.  If you could have seen the look on the toll booth guy when we pulled up, it was one of those priceless moments.  A good laugh was had by all.  By the way, we kept the window down and Prince would stick his head out and the people would have to take that second look.  It was a very memorable trip that we all still laugh about when we start reminicng about the "good old days" when life seemed simpler to us.  But then we were just kids.

Memories they are great!

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Ahhhhhhhhhh~~~~~Rain and Bed

Go so well together......I know you feel the same way.  Now this looks and feels like a typical Iowa morning in October.  Duck hunting season is now in full swing and my brothers are out there as I type trying to get their limits with their trusty Labs by their sides.  Along with our Dad.  He is no longer with us except in our hearts but he certainly doesn't miss the duck hunting with the boys because they have some of his ashes floating (in a duck decoy)right there amongst the others.  Some may find this morbid but I think it is a very respectful way to honor our Dad....who lived as my brothers do for duck season every year~~~~~~

I come from a family of four other siblings all boys.....yep I am the only girl Mom and Dad were "blessed" with.  They say the sex of your child is determined by the male.  Gosh that used to bug me but it is now totally understandable since my Dad would not have been able to handle more then one of me.  Just ask any one of my brothers they will tell you.  I wouldn't want it any other way though.  My brothers, Mike, Tom, Tim and Scott are the best in the world.  We are truly blessed!  Our Mother is still the center of all of our lives.  She is our rock, our leader, our friend......she lends her ear as needed but never judges...I think she is proud of her litter.  LOL  We are lucky to have her with us~~~~~~for many more years to come.

Craig comes from a family of 3 other siblings.  Janet, Julie and Scott they are....his Mom and Dad did it right and kept it equal.  Craig fits in between Janet and Julie.  The two Scott's of our families are the babies.  His stories of his childhood are very entertaining and joyful!  He of course was a typical boy but was and still is the apple of his Mom's eye.  Speaking of Momlou, she is loving, caring, a great listener (has to be a mom thing), she does not judge, and lends her support to all of us.  We are truly lucky to have our Moms still in our lives because so many others our age do not.

My goodness I have rambled on this morning.


Until next time~~~~~Travel safely

TGIF~~~~~

Woohoo!  Though someday it won't matter what day of the week it is.....
Today is going fairly smooth so far.  So there is not much more to say except "TGIF"!

Home at last.....picked up my Pinot after work.  In fact, just poured my first glass.  Yum it is delightful.  The horses are fed and watered, the dogs and I got our exercise in and they are patiently waiting on supper.  Hubby is on the road so hope to hear from him soon.  It is going to be a good night.  I can tell.

Oh yeah it is a great night.....Craig just called.....scroll up it's ours, yep you are looking at our new home!  It is a Royals International with a F650 Super Cruzer.  I can't wait to see it!  He said the pictures do not do it justice and I will be very happy!

The dream.....it is getting closer!

Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Another day another dollar~~~~~

A great guy (now retired) I used to work with used to respond, "What ya do get a raise?". It always made me laugh at myself for saying "Another day another dollar". 


As we continue our day to day struggle with the alarm clock to get up and get to work to make those dollars, we are getting closer and closer to retirement.  Those dollars will give us the opportunity to live as we have been able to live while gainfully employed because we have invested wisely, and therefore can now look forward to "no worries" after retirement.  Woohoo!


It seems almost to be like a dream but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I keep getting butterflies in my stomach everytime I look at that tunnel.



Until next time~~~~Travel safely

Where do I begin~~~~~

I am planning this blog as I write here and now. So please bear with me. I have been a follower of so many of you, learning and discovering what our future has in store. We are wanna be full timers who plan to start in 2012 if all falls into place as we hope it will. We have decided on a 5th wheel and truck for our home on wheels. We have a home on the Mississippi River in Iowa along with around 10+ acres of land, horse barn, and horses. We plan to sell it all and move about this beautiful country as soon as we can. We will start out with short trips to begin with.  Anxious to get started is putting it mildly.

We have two beautiful daughters, 3 great grandkids and 4 hilarious dogs. Our daughter Tammy lives in Iowa along with most all of our extended family and Emilee lives in Arizona. Pretty convenient don't ya think? 

We plan to travel along with our other family.  Cj is our Corgi, Libby is our Jack Russell, Oprah and Mandy are our poodles. I have purchased a book (3"thick) all about pet friendly camping in every state of the union....after all we want our puppies to be welcome where ever we go.


We have worked hard and plan to retire hard because we deserve it! Stay with us as we prepare for our Fiver Adventures!!



Thanks for listening to me with my first post.


Until next time ~~~~Travel safely